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Getting the Right Staff for Your Salon and Spa

Tips from the Cosmetology School in Austin, Texas

Salons and spas are a service-oriented business. Although they also sell products to clients, most of their profit comes from the services offered. This is precisely the reason why it is important to ensure that each and every staff that you employ on your salon or spa are certified, skilled, and have a way with clients that will keep them coming back for more. Whether it’s a fresh graduate of a cosmetology school in Austin, TX or a quite seasoned makeup artist in between jobs that you end up hiring, it is important to get the right staff to ensure the success of your business.

Tips for Hiring the Best Staff for Your Business

So you already ironed out most of the details for opening up your salon or spa business. You’re now in the process of hiring the people who will work behind the scenes to ensure the success of your venture. Here are some tips to remember when hiring the best staff:

• Know which positions to fill out in the first place.
As an entrepreneur, you should have a solid business plan so that you can map out what to do from Day One – starting from the building to the selection of services to the day-to-day operations. In the business plan, you have there a projection of the expenses which includes the salary of the staff. So how many people do you need to employ? As the owner of the business, will you also be acting as salon manager or will you be hiring someone else for that? You should also look for:
– A receptionist
– A cosmetologist
– A hairstylist
– A shampoo/salon assistant
– A nail technician
– A massage therapist
– An electrologist
– Independent contractors

An electrologist is skilled at using machines and analysing the skin for hair removal services. Independent contractors are those who are not really in your payroll, but can provide additional services to clients in your salon or spa. You can hire graduates from a cosmetology school near Austin, TX who can serve as a shampoo or salon assistant while they are still sharpening their hair cutting or styling skills. You can also go for someone with more experience, although you should expect to offer these professionals a bigger salary or commission.

• Think about how much you should pay your staff.
Employee retention is one of the biggest challenges in the beauty industry. If you want to keep your staff happy, make sure that you are paying them right. If you are paying on a commission basis, don’t ask about what a good commission rate is. Determine the percentage of the business’ total revenues it can afford for payroll expense. Be thorough when thinking about this aspect of running your business because you want to get that delicate balance between paying the staff enough so they would want to stay, but without sacrificing the overall profit of the business.

• Find ways to look for the right people.
On job postings, be honest. Make the job description as detailed as possible and tailor the ad based on your needs. You can post announcements on public bulletin boards, online job sites, or through public announcement channels at a cosmetology school in Austin, Texas, for example.

While sifting through the resumes, focus on the history of the candidate. If you’re hiring a fresh graduate, the interview and skills test will give you an idea about whether he or she is a good fit for the salon or spa. More importantly, do not recruit just for the sake of filling out your required number of employees. It’s better to start with a small staff who are committed to making things work then expand later on, than having a big staff initially and not having a smooth operation because you hired people who are not committed to the line of work that you do.

Follow these tips so that you can hire the right people who will work with you in turning your salon or spa into a huge success.

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